providing quality and affordable hockey in a positive environment from Learn-To-Skate through Midget for Mansfield, Easton, Norton, Foxboro, Taunton, Lakeville, Dighton, and surrounding towns
The Tri County Saints are a non-profit organization dedicate

USA Hockey Registration: We will send out a blast to the league to have a parents register their kids for USA Hockey and send confirmation number to Kevin and coaches.

Need to find someone who can run LTP/LTS. Board member needs to be present. Frank is going to contact Frank Antonelli to see if he wants to do it.

Finances: 35K in the red (30K if we have parents register their own kids for USA Hockey). Need to sell more ice. North Attleboro JV team has told Gloria wants to buy some ice from us. We have 22 hours of ice per week during the fall. Ken thinks we should sell ice to high school or JV for more than our $200 per hour.

Photographers: We no longer have a contract with anyone. Frank will look into some local photographer to do the team photos. Same schedule last year.

House League has 21 kids in it right now. SWS has another house team this year.

Skills: Coach run skills. Need a skills coordinator to run this.

Talked about getting new jerseys for an additional price. Agreed we should first take a look at how many shirts we currently have first.

Frank is going to send a Mike a quote for house league jerseys.

Fundraising: Leo asked if we could get sponsors for each team. Greg said bylaws say a team cant do individual team fundraising.

Frank will help out TV raffle. We think we can get 5K from fundraining this year.

Whittier child on Pee Wee C: Father wants him on Pee Wee B. Greg recalls that he was lower level. Rick Palin would bring him up if he is good enough. We need to evaluate some of the new registrations on the ice before we move Whittier up to Pee Wee B level.

Evan Jaques wants to run the refereeing crew for house league. Jason is going to find out if we need time keepers and referees for Cape Cod League home games. Gretchen will contact him to discuss this position.

Pee Wee C team: Vote to put them into the Cape Cod League. Better competition. Ken made the motion for the team to go to the Cape Cod League. Gary seconded this. All were for and none were against.

Need BOD member presence when the volunteer coaches are coaching during the games.

1. Need to fill the following board positions:
Registrar
Secretary
Fund Raiser
Jason is going to ask Lisa Pearce to come to the next meeting for an hour beforehand to show board members that are interested in learning how to do the registrar role.
Action Item: Send another email out to league parents asking them to join the board.

2. Need midget numbers from Greg. Tony will email Goulart and Truax to ask them to coach Bantam B team. Still need coach for Pee Wee C team. Leo said the South Shore Conf B2 league for our Pee Wee C team. The opinion from the board was that our Pee Wee C team couldn't compete and felt the league wouldn't take our team.
Leo asked if we could register ourselves at a Tier 4 league instead of a Tier 3 league with Mass hockey or USA hockey. The reason for this is for the Bantam A team to be able to compete better at tournaments. This would make the Bantam B team a tier 5 team.

Still need to find a goalie for Pee Wee C team.

3. Should we do a skills program, we have options out there but we need to determine what the tuition is going to be first.

4. Fundraising: How do we get the Tri County Saints brand out there more with some of our apparell. Leo thinks we can sell gear through Foxboro Pro Shop. Jason would like to have us sell apparell during practices. Put a rack out at the rink. Sell more sweatshirts and jackets during the late fall and before Christmas. Frank is going to put together a flyer out. TV Raffle again. We will ask parents to help out with fundraising and help with selling the gear. Can we get companies to sponsor our game jerseys.

5. Has Greg spoken to Steve Folan about LTS. We need a coordinator to be the work with LTS/LTP instructor. We need to make sure the registration link works for House and LTS/LTP. Still need to determine price, but general consensus is $15-20 per kids per session. Jason to create a flyer that will put into other rinks and send to local schools.

6. Need to gather equipment from Jaime. Charlie hasn't received equipment.
Can we get something like a lock box that will hold equipment.

7. House: Can we get more teams to come and play us. We will look contact other teams to see if we can recruit teams.

Mr. Lumnal is requesting that his son (second year Bantam) is requesting that he be allowed to play up at the Midget level. He is playing for a HS team. Charlie discussed issue of getting hurt, but father felt that he is too large . Tony made a motion to let Tim Lumnal play up at the midget level. Jamie seconded it and it passed unanimously.

Registration: A number of folks have responded that they are NOT coming to the Saints (3 Pee Wee, 2 Bantams, 2 Squirts). There are still a large number of players that have not responded. There has been a request of 1 Pee Wee and 1 Bantam that wants to play and didn't tryout. Vinny will send out an e-mail reminding people to send in their letters of acceptance, however they are not due until May 15th. Greg thinks that there may be a few more Pee Wee skaters that will not be returning. Based on the numbers that we have tonight, the number of teams do not look like they need to be changed. There is going to be 9 teams, 2 House and LP/LS. If everyone agrees to come there will be 113 skaters and 12 goalies for the travel league and 27 skaters and 4 goalies for Midgets.

NVL - Mike dropped off the check and was told that they don't have all of the numbers to determine how many teams NVL will have at each level.

Pee Wee C - Greg has had some e-mail discussions with the Cape Cod League about taking the C team. However, they have not gotten back to him about specifics. They have stated that they would like to have the Pee Wee C team and that half the games would be at Taunton. He has not received information on which rinks down the Cape they are going to use. Rob stated that if worse came to worse the Saints could put the C team into the NVL. The discussion was what to tell the parents about the NVL or the Cape League. Rob suggested that Greg send an e-mail about the idea of the Cape League and explain the situation about the NVL. It would also allow the parents to give some feedback. Greg will send out the e-mail this week.

Ice Schedule Next year based on the number of teams projected. The Taunton rink said that they would work with the program about dropping 3 to 4 hours a week. They would allow the program to drop some good and some poor hours. The other possibility would be to give up 3 hours a week in the fall and pick them up again in the spring. On top of that the program would also drop an additional hour the rest of the year. There is a JH League that wants a Wed night hours. This would require us to give up 1 hour on Wed to that program and 2 hours on Tuesday. There was discussion of the pros and cons about of the situation. There is not any flexibilty with the gentleman that is running the JH league. ovell is on Board for 16 weeks of Sundays. Start in September end in March. Taking a break during high school season. Lovell does have a Goalie coach and we will discuss what it takes to get him to our clinic for 1 hour perhaps. Do Mites and then all goalies in first hour or rotate the hour between level. The board discussion was the Saints should give FMC back 4 hours and let them deal with it. Greg will negotiate with them to determine which hours that FMC will take.

Ice Needs - 2 practices and 1 skills for each team. If you include 2 house teams and LP/LS you will need to have 23 sheets of ice a week.

Outstanding Balances: Still $8,000 that is owed to the program. The O'Brien family still owes $1,000. Currently the program is down about $10,000 for the year, however, there is no outstanding bills..

Meeting opened at 7:10 PM - Tony opened the meeting and Frank seconded.

Laurie Keene: Ms. Keene asked to speak to the board about her son's injury and her refund request. He hurt his hip and can never play hockey again. He has a long standing hip problem and he can never play again. He has played with the Saints sense he was in House. The Board voted last week to waive the $195, but not to refund the remaining $275. Jason made a motion to refund a portion of the $275 and Rob seconded it and a discussion was conducted. Rob made a motion to refund a $125 of the $275 and Charlie made a second. Discussion about the need for a policy was conducted. (9 approved, 1 opposed and 1 abstained).

Mites: There are only 25 mites. Tony suggested that we put on the web site that we are still looking for players to play at that level and leave it up until September. Two teams were picked and the board suggested that the coach leave a few openings for the fall. Mike Heath was nominated as the Mite A head coach. He was approved unanimously. Ken Olivier was nominated for the Mite B coach and was approved unanimously.

Squirts: We have 3 goalies and 30 skaters. Discussion that 15 is a perfect number for a team. There may be some skaters still leaving. Greg Arnold was nominated for the Squirt A coach and was approved unanimously. At least the top 10 will be notified of their status. Greg may choose to take more before the letters are sent out. There are two possible Squirt B coachs. They will notify the board about who will take the head coach job.

Pee Wee: There are 43 skaters and 4 goalies. There is a chance that Saints may lose at a number of skaters. There may be at least 5 of them that are going to other teams. Based on the ratings there appears to be an A, B and a C team. Frank made a motion that there be an A, B and C team at the Pee Wee level. Lisa seconded it and it passed unanimously. The parents should be notified that if they are on the C team the team will be placed either in the NVL if there is a C level. If not, the Saints will try to place them in another league such as the Cape Cod. If that isn't possible the Saints will give the practice and game ice at Taunton rink. The coach will have to find "scrimmage" games. Ken felt the C coach should be given a break, because of the extra time finding games. The discussion was to take as many "A" skaters as possible and name them. There are two possible head coaches. There two are Greg Arnold and Chris Graham. The board felt that Greg should confirm with Chis because he is coaching the the Squirt A team. The board felt that the A coach should only go as high as 13 for the A team. Rick Palin did put in a request that he coach a Squirt Team. He may be the Pee Wee B coach. There is no Pee Wee C coach. Frank will call the Cape Cod league and ask about placing a C team there.

Bantam: There are 27 skaters and 5 goalies. There are 2 coaches that applied.There is a concern about the 5 goalies. The Bantam was made that Leo Jacques is the head coach of the Bantam A team. It passed unanimously. Trado has a player that didn't have the money and another family will pay his full tuition. He is a B level player. There are two teams and there is no B team coach. Leo will pick 13 skaters.

Midgets: The teams were divided by the coachs and they will notify the skaters.

Ice Schedule: The rink requested the ice schedule on 4/1/09. Greg has requested that they drop the 8 and 9 hours. The rink was not willing to do that, but was willing to work with the program. Rob discussed the need to run skills on Sunday and that the program should keep the Sunday ice. There is a need for the someone to go over the ice based on the teams. Greg will work on this and have on going discussion with the rink. Charlie has been in touch with someone about buying some ice. There is also someone looking for ice when the middle schools start skating. Discussion of different ideas on how to use the ice including skills on different nights and getting rid of the late and early hours. We need to drop from 27 to 21 sheets of ice.

Skills: There was a discussion of whether there should be Lovell skills or coach run skills. The cost is about $15,000. Frank suggested that there be a "skills coordinator". Charlie volunteered to take the "skills coordinator".

House : Frank suggested that the House be changed from just Saturday and Sunday and drop one of those for a week night ice time. Meeting Adjourned 9:10PM

Pee Wee Tryouts: At the coaches meeting Dave Blakely cautioned the group about having second year Squirts checking during tryouts. He felt it was against USA hockey rules. Lisa will look into the issue and e-mail the board if it is a problem. Otherwise, the checking clinic will be held on the 20th and the board will ask Jamie to be on ice and to act as a referee.

Midget Tryouts: It was determined that the 2 coaches will run the tryouts and evaluate the players. This is what has been done in previous years.

Waiver: Tony requested a waiver to allow a Pee Wee aged house player to continue playing next year due to cognitive limitations. Tony made the motion, Charlie seconded it and it pasted unanimously.

Girls Team: There will be a girls’ hour on the 20th. Jason will run the ice and Greg will talk to the parents about the different leagues and the reality of starting a U12 team this year.

Lovell Skills: The Board discussed the pros and cons of continuing with the Lovell Skills next year. Some felt that it was worth the extra money and others felt the membership might want the reduction in tution. Greg agreed to look into the price if Lovell dropped to two 50 minute sessions.

Learn to Skate/Play: Ken suggested looking for a new person to take on the LS/LP program next year. There were numerous issues. Many members felt the issues were due to a lack of board presence at the first sessions.

Sold Ice: Two sheets of ice for 3/23 and 3/24 from 8:00 to 9:00 PM were sold to Melissa Campbell.

Injury Refund Requests: Two cases (Mulcahy and Keene) were reviewed. Both were real injuries that occurred early in the season. Vinny made a motion to waive the $195 they owed and Mike seconded. It passed unanimously.

Credit Card: Frank explained the credit card machine and the costs again. He was able to secure one for the tryouts and it was decided to try it this year. Board members were assigned to help Lisa each first night of each level. Frank will get the machine to Lisa.

Tryout –other: Greg will get the card stock with the numbers to Lisa. Tony will get a list of all of the coaches and other volunteers that are working the tryouts out to the board members.

1) It was determined that due to the lack of members present there could not be any matters voted on tonight. This was to be an informational meeting only

2) Taunton Brewins:

a. Two members (one of them the president) of the Taunton Brewins attended the meeting and outlined their proposal to join the Saints with the Brewins. They indicated that they had meetings with their Board and that they had voted to allow them to have this discussion with Tri-County.

b. The discussion included a review of the leagues that the Brewins currently belong to. They have their A and B teams in the South Shore Conference which they indicate is very competitive. They use to have their C teams in the Yankee Conference, but recently voted to move them to the NVL. Discussions were held on the issues regarding the scheduling at the NVL and it was explained that the president that the South Shore League schedules their games in three “blocks” over the course of the year. Each block comes out at least two weeks prior to the end of the previous block. The South Shore League has games in Hingham, Canton, Weymouth, Pembroke, Bridgewater, Taunton, Kingston, Falmouth, Bourne, Dedham and Raynham. Most of the games are scheduled at rinks as close to the two teams as possible.

c. The fact that the NVL will no longer be holding all of its games in Foxboro was also reviewed in terms of scheduling for next year and that in the past many parents joined the Saints or other NVL teams for that ease of only going to Foxboro.

d. The positives of the merger were presented by the Brewins board members. They felt that this would allow the Saints players to be able to compete at a higher level and to be placed with skaters at their same level. They also felt it help the Brewins have stronger C teams and to grow the program. By having larger numbers they would have more say in the leagues and with the rinks.

e. They indicated that if the merger did occur that they would place one “A” team, at least one “B” team and a couple of “B2” teams in the South Shore Conference and the “C” teams at the NVL.

3) Issues and Concerns:

a. The Saints members asked about the tryout policy. The Brewins have a 7 page policy up on their website for review. It was indicated that if the programs merged that the Saints would be given three members at each tryout to observe and make ratings. That they would attend the placement meeting, but that the final say would be made by the 6 Brewins members in the room. This was discussed in length and they felt that this was due to the “understanding” that there members had of the process and how it works.

b. If the merger was to occur the Brewins would need to use Saints ice during the week of tryouts. They currently have three hours for each level scheduled, but felt they would need at least one hour more per level, due to the number of skaters.

c. Their tuition is currently $1,050 per skated and $500 per goalie and there is a $250 nonrefundable deposit due at tryouts. They do take credit cards.

d. There currently is not a girl’s team, but there are girls programs at the south shore conference and a U12 team could be placed there. Girls would be allowed to be duel rostered and play on a boy's team as well.

e. Coaches for both sides would have to apply. Coaches apply for a level not a team. For example squirt level not squirt A or B. Teams are determined first and coaches are assigned after that based on where their child is. There are also level specific coach's manuals given to each coach with expectations for development outlined n them.

f. Discussion about merger verses dissolving the Saints. The issues include the financial state of the Saints. If there is a merger the Brewins would need to conduct a “financial review” of the entire Saints program. This would cost about $5,000. They are reluctant to spend this much money.

g. The Brewins indicated that they would give three temporary seats on the Board to Saints representative for the rest of the year. After that there would be a vote for new members according to their by-laws.

h. The Brewins feel as if they are under a tight time line and need to schedule the tryouts. However, they understand that the Saints Board will need to meet and discuss this proposal in detail. They will look in the rink scheduling book and determine which Saints ice time might be used for tryouts if the merger does occur.

i. The Brewins president will attend the next board meeting after the first hour to allow for some discussion between the Saints members.

4) After the Brewins members left the Saints members discussed the pros and cons of the proposal. Tony indicated he was concerned that the Brewins had all of the say about tryouts and board membership and that this was not a merger, but more of a take over. Jamie, Eileen and Charlie discussed the declining membership of the Saints and Vinny also pointed out the financial issues. The financial situation would have to be looked at closely, as we are still $24,000 short. There was also a discussion of the reaction of the membership to this proposal. The membership would have the choice of naming a new board and continuing the Saints program. The current board could only make a suggestion that the merger occur and the Saints program dissolve.

5) It was suggested that the Saints Board try to meet on 2/23/09 and take a final vote. Vinny will send out an e-mail request to all Board members. Eileen suggested that the meeting be held on Tuesday the 24th if not enough members can attend the 23rd.

6) The tryout schedule and policy put together by Tony was reviewed and it was suggested the Saints move forward with this proposal until it is determined what will be done with the Brewins.

Dave made a motion to refund Frank Robles a total of $936.25 off the tuition of his two children as payment for conducting the goalie clinics. It was noted that he didn't have a child that was a goalie and that the cost per hour was equivalent to the cost for "learn to skate/play". The motion was seconded by Ken and passed unanimously.

2. Registrations and Payments:

The balance sheet was reviewed and it was noted that late payments had been reduced in half from last month to about $25,000. It was determined that calls will be made to parents still on the list. They will be notified that Frank or Christine Robles will be at the Taunton Rink on 2/15/09 from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM to take credit card payments. The parents can also give the checks directly to Board Members over the weekend. The parents that are not willing or able to pay have been asked not to send their children to practice or games. The Board will review payments at the next meeting and determine the next steps. A motion to approve this process was made by Gary, seconded by Vinny and approved unanimously.

Vinny will send a letter to the Midgets that have not paid will be sent a letter. The letter state that Tri-County will notify USA hockey and the skater will not be allowed to register with USA hockey until payment is made in full.

Calls will be made to the Bantams by Mike, Pee Wee and Squirts by Gary and House by Ken. Mike will also attend the learn to play session to determine how many skaters are registered.

3. The Lovell Skills Session will begin again this week. Greg will send out a notice to all members.

4. Schedule: Greg is working on the schedule and will post at least this weekend’s practices. He may require help for the rest of the schedule, as he is leaving vacation tomorrow.

5. Mr. Bora offered a settlement for the lawsuit. He stated that he would dismiss the suit if Tri-County agreed to give a $250 donation to the Taunton Boys and Girls club. There was discussion about the matter and the pros and cons were reviewed. It was decided to wait until there were more Board Members were present to hold a vote on the matter.

6.TauntonBrewins: Greg and Jamie stated that they had been approached by the President of the Taunton Brewins and one other board member about a possible merger of the two programs. The Brewins are looking to get out of the Yankee Conference and move their C teams to the NVL. They felt that a merger of the two programs would benefit both programs. The Brewins would have better access to the NVL and could place C teams there. The Tri-County Saints skaters would have access to the more competitive South Shore Conference where the combined programs could place an “A” team, and numerous “B” teams. All of the skaters would be evaluated together and placed according to skill levels. There are also opportunities for the development and placement of a girl’s team in the South Shore Program. Jamie pointed out that the numbers at Tri-County have been dropping lately and that given the economy, the issues regarding the competitiveness of the NVL and the displeasure members have with the NVL in general that we are likely to see a continued reduction of membership. He also pointed out that the House and Learn to Skate were weak and that is how the Saints have traditionally fed the program at the upper levels. Discussion was held on how the merger might work, the name of the new program, dissolving the Board and how tryouts might occur. Members also discussed the reaction of parents and coaches and the desire of some board members to not merge. It was determined that other members not in attendance should be given the opportunity to hear the proposal and the matter was tabled until a new meeting was scheduled. It was suggested by Vinny and Jamie to hold a board meeting on 2/16/09 with any members that could attend and to invite the Brewins’ Board members to attend.

Schedule Issues Discussed a various schedule issues including goalie clinic times and starting Lovell Skills again in Feb. There was also an issue with the Bantams last Sunday. None of the coaches attended. Tony will contact the coaches to determine what happened.

Girls Team: Eileen indicated that only 9 parents responded to e-mail about a girls team for last year. However, a number of members indicated that parents had come to them directly. It looks like there could be enough girls for a U12 team. Will investigate possible leagues that might be interested in taking the team. Tony suggested that right before tryouts there should be a "girls hour" to help determine interest and skill levels.

Tuition Issues: David Blakely provided a medical report on his son's injury. This meets the injury policy and it was determined that he should get a credit towards next year and that he gets "forgiveness" for the rest of this year. Dave made a motion to follow the policy on this case and Vinny second it. Vote = unanimous. The Chancey family also had an injury situation and has a balance of $900. This also feel under the injury policy. Dave made motion to waive the $900 because the injury occured in November. Vinny seconded it. Vote = Unanimous.Registrations and

Court Case– The individual contacted the Greg and offered to settle for $250. There was a debate about the situation and what was the right thing to do. Ken wanted to know what the legal issues were and what the chances of winning the case were if the Saints went ahead and didn't settle. Gary thought he could investigate this further, so a vote was postponed until more information was available. It was suggested that at the next tryouts that there be clear language on the website about refunds request must be made in writing and no discussion with anyone including board members is considered a request.

Tryouts: Tony has been working on ideas for the format and suggested that the tryouts be held the last week or March or first week of April. he also suggested a bigger point spread for the ratings sheet. He felt that the coaches of that age group needed to be on the ice to run the session. While out there the coaches need to make sure that the lines get mixed up and that friends don't skate together Frank raised the idea of independent evaluators and a number of board members will see if there are outsiders interested. Finally a discussion was held about the use and design of a coaches rating scale. Frank volunteered to create one. There will also be a "checking clinic" offered to anyone trying out for the Pee Wee level. It will be offered a week or so before the tryouts.

Carnival: January 25th . Jamie will get the pucks for "chuck-a puck". Vinny, Frank, Eileen and Ken will be able to assit most of the time. Other members can not commit to the full time due to games and other issues. Frank is developing skills sheets and will chage $3 for 1 and $5 for both. there will be an accuracy and hardest shot group. There will also be a 50/50 raffle added this year.

NVL - There continues to be issues with the league and a number of members wanted to investigate other leagues. One of the biggest issues is the schedule. There are also rumors surrounding the NVL having to leave Foxboro. Greg and Rob will contact the Foxboro Rink Manager to determine if this is true.